Could the Republican Presidential hopeful just shoot himself right out of the 2016 election?

It appears he is – at the least – in some political hot water, and has been since September 2013.

NorthJersy.com got hold of some pretty incriminating emails that indicate the George Washington Bridge was shut down by the Governor’s top aides, with the intention of creating traffic jams in order to punish the Democratic mayor of nearby town, who didn’t support Christie’s reelection.

In an effort to release himself of responsibility, Christie released a statement Wednesday afternoon denying the traffic scheme, saying he was “outraged” at the “inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct.”

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” one of the aides, Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly reportedly had said in an e-mail to Port Authority employee and Christie associate David Wildstein.

Sounds a bit sarcastic doesn’t it, for a government aid to take obvious pleasure in causing a major traffic jam, which included school buses that had difficulty getting through the mess to deliver children to their schools and homes. Wildstein counseled an associate to not feel bad about the kids’ plight.

“They are the children of Buono voters,” Wildstein wrote, according to NorthJersey.com. He was referring to Barbara Buono, the Democratic candidate Christie defeated in November.

With this little prank on his record, regardless of whether it was him directly or his aides, causes many to question how this may affect Christie’s political future. It will “probably destroy Christie’s chances in 2016” as New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait argues in his recent post, Chris Christie 2016: A Bridge to Nowhere.

This scandal shows that Christie is somewhat of a bully, with a little vindictiveness to boot, and sort of a bull in a china shop in some of his political and daily doings.

At best, for Christie’s sake, nothing has come forward to tie him directly to this scandal; he could fire his aides, promise to investigate and might actually slide through this with just a few bumps and bruises.

It might have happened already, with Christie’s recent statement about the whole affair:

“What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable,” he said. “I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.”

“I think the whole thing will fade within a week unless proof emerges that Christie had a bigger role in it,” writes Allahpundit at the right-leaning Hot Air web site.

Either way, Christie holds some liberal views on social issues that the GOP probably won’t accept and could just be another obstacle to his political future if he does run in 2016.

Image via Wikimedia Commons